Dumbledore's girl
by Saoirse.Ash
Summary: Hermione Granger came back to the magical world only for fifteen minutes before being pulled into trouble. She should have stayed in her little cabin, but now it is too late. Someone has his eyes on her, and he always gets what he wants. It is M for a reason.
1. Prologue

Prologue

It was a rare occasion for Hermione Dumbledore to traverse the magical (or muggle) streets of London. She always loved it of course, and she would have thought that now, two years after graduating, with no restrictions set on her anymore, she would be a regular visitor. Things hadn't worked out in this way, and Hermione was glad. Her research was the most important thing to her right now, and she didn't regret leaving such pleasantries as a new book, or quill, behind.

But she was back, after two years of living in a very secluded cabin in the heart of Norway, and she had a lot of things to buy. It was kind of strange, seeing so many people, and it frightened her a bit. Definitely the chatter around her put her on the edge, it was a long time since she spoke.

She went for the important ingredients for her research first, buying what seemed to be more than half of the apothecary, before sneaking into the bookstore. Once it was a place in which she could have spent a lifetime in, but now she was just too scared of the people. Hastily she took all volumes which caught her attention and she went to stand in the queue.

'Let the business be done' she thought to herself as the line moved along, 'It hasn't really been _that_ long, now has it?'

As she payed, Hermione remembered her friends from Hogwarts. While they sent letters to each other, Hermione didn't see them ever since she left for the cabin, and that was almost immediately upon graduating. Being in the civilisation again made her remember, and she thought that it would be wise to invite them over someday. Individually first, perhaps.

"Hermione!"

Oh dear.

"Hermione Dumbledore! Halt!"

Hermione stopped in her tracks, glancing over her shoulder to see who called her. the minute she did that, her face book into a warm smile.

"Sybil!" She greeted the small witch as they met grounds, "Sybil Davis if my poor sight doesn't deceive me! How are you Sybil?"

"Stunned, dearest. What are you doing here, you little hermit?" the witch laughed merrily.

"I needed ingredients" Hermione shrugged, " Thought I'd like to see civilisation again. If not for you, that'd be quite a regrettable choice".

"Charming as always. Say, I was headed to buy a new familiar, would you join me? It won't take a long time, and we could catch up!"

"I don't think fifteen minutes will be enough to fit in the description of your hazy life, Sybil. But I will join you gladly. You know, I was just thinking about you, just a second ago" Hermione laughed.

"See? I told you that divination was not a fluke. I always arrive perfectly on time" the little witch gleamed.

Hermione chuckled, shaking her head at her friend's antics. But she walked contently along with little Sybil, who did most of the chatter; telling her of her friends, of the newest marriages, results in Quidditch championships. Sybil didn't work, like most of the women nowadays, at least she didn't work officially. Her gift lay in weaving love spells, and she could do it better than anyone else. She was clever about it too.

"Tell me about your weaving projects. Anything interesting?"

"Oh yes! Allow me to brag about it, I am very proud of it. Recently a very determined witch came to my house, asking for a spell. What am I saying, she was _begging_ for it. She fell in love with a rich kind of fellow, who not only rich but also powerful in spells and from the looks of it, not bad looking either. Anyhow, to cut long story short, she came to me and begged for a spell. For all his powers, and riches and looks he appeared to be quite immune to the female touch, if you know what I mean" Sybil winked at Hermione, "You know how much I love riddles and puzzles, 'Mione. I gave her a crystal and instructed her to crash it when she will be next to him. I told her to observe the colours that would come out, and listen into them. The colours would offer the questions she would need to answer correctly before his heart would unfreeze for her. Of course she failed, little bint. She found out that he was swinging in the other way, and she could never look at him. How's that for a love spell?"

Hermione watched her friend grin wildly at her.

'Quite unethical dearest" she retorted, " but all this business with love is quite unethical already."

"You know quite well 'Mione, that I do nothing but show the path if there is one, and show the lack of it if there isn't. I don't see anything wrong about it."

" I suppose so. So tell me, any familiar in particular?"

Sybil shrugged at her,

"None. I just want a pet."

"Aha."

Upon reaching the shop, Sybil entered first, Hermione followed. The shop was quite crowded, as it usually was on Saturdays, and Hermione had hard time seeing any animals at all. She merely tried to follow her friend through the twisted labyrinth, every so often murmuring something of an approval to Sybil's antics. It was such a long time she saw people, and to see Sybil reminded her of all those times of insecurities and anxieties. People were never her thing.

Then.

Screams, noise, panic. Hermione's eyes widened as crowds tried to escape the tiny space of the shop, running fast, at _her_. She lost Sybil, and that worried her. Her wand was ready in her hand, she scanned the area from the little spot between large owl cages she snuggled into. The screams of fear and pain weren't only here in the shop, they sounded from the street as well. She saw lights, curses being thrown and terrified she saw how the scared witches and wizards ran straight towards the battlefield.

"Fools!" she muttered.

Decision made, she too ran outside, squirming through the crowds. There appeared to be about fifty or so wizards on the street, to Hermione's quick eye. But there were assuredly many more. And the children! Thinking quickly, Hermione closed her eyes, and focused her magic on each individual wizard, and pushed. There appeared a blank expression for a split second on the faces of all who were touched by her magic, and soon enough they all started to head in different directions, pulled to the source of nearest safety, and hidden behind the notice-me-not development of the charm. The street suddenly grew quieter, and Hermione kept her eyes closed as she willed everyone to find their safety locations. While doing so, she hid herself behind empty owl cages. She was very vulnerable at this moment, and she wouldn't be able to protect herself, and even so, her magic shook from overuse. When she thought that all under her protection were safe, she let go, and leaned back against the cod stone wall. She was tired.

But there was still a fight on the streets, and she could see aurors fighting with figures clad in black robes, their faces hidden beneath masks. She needed a second, and she could then join in. There was something thrilling about a solid fight, and this one looked pretty serious.

Standing up, she became invisible. Her little invention, and it came with quite a lot of sacrifices when she made it. Now, putting it to practice was exhilarating.

As far as she saw it, the aurors were winning the game. She almost felt disappointed at the efficiency of the aurors, who masterfully brought the dark robed people down. She didn't need to do much, a stunner here and there, paralyser. She knew she was cheating, but attacking innocent people in the first place doesn't seem too moral either, now does it? The aurors on their part seemed surprised to see their opponents down, but they didn't take long to think about it. Soon enough the dark wizards were down, either on the ground or apparated away. The strange thing was, that the moment that the aurors or Hermione drew near to the fall figures, they would simply vanish. As if they have never been there in the first place.

Hermione stayed a while longer, listening to the Auror's conversations, before turning back to the animal shop, where she dropped her purse with all her purchases. The streets seemed eerie now, quiet and calm, and the mess on the streets was unnerving. Back at the animal shop the place was empty, and it didn't take long for Hermione to find her beaded bag. She turned to leave, when a soft male voice sounded from behind her.

" I have seen everything."

Hermione turned quickly and saw only an outline of a tall man, dark hair, pale skin, thin. He was gone in a blink, but she could have sworn that his eyes are green.

 **AN: hi there, I had this idea of the fanfic in my mind recently, so I decided to give it a shot. I don't know whether I will continue it, but I suppose I will try my best ;)**

 **Hermione here is Dumbledore's daughter. I wanted her to be adopted at first, but then decided that I rather preferred her to come from the time period (which is 1956). This is heavily AU, as most of such fanfics are, and there can be some things that are really unfamiliar. Hermione won't be an easy one here, and neither are those who will meet her path ;)**


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: anything that belongs to J. K. Rowling, does not belong to me.**

Chapter 1

"I swear to you Eileen, everything happened in a flash of a second! And everyone screamed, and there was just absolute chaos! I lost Hermione in a blink!" Sybil's voice rocketed around the otherwise quiet terrace. Hermione quirked an eyebrow at her good friend Eileen Prince, musing at her friend's antics.

" Well, it was quick, that's for certain" she said, "But the Aurors did an exceptional job there. It was unbelievable."

"It seems like you had a nice view Hermione. From what I heard, the crowds were mysteriously transported to a safe location, and not many had the time to watch what was happening" Eileen spoke with a knowing gleam. She, knowing Hermione since they were little girls, knew her well enough to understand how much in the centre of the action Hermione liked to be, "I always knew you'd make a fine Auror. And what did you choose instead, you little Hermit?"

" I choose peaceful life and interesting projects. I always knew what my life would look like. You on the other hand…"

" One day you will want to bite those words back, Hermione, I swear" Eileen sighed. Hermione wondered whether it was another premonition, but then Sybil exclaimed:

"With all those exciting city outings aside, I have something else of importance to say!"

Judging by those flushed cheeks and bright eyes, it would definitely be something like -

" I am engaged!"

Eileen grinned.

"Who?!" she squealed.

" Hector Fawley Jr.! He came to my and my family yesterday, and he was very sweet about all this!" Sybil babbled on, as Eileen's face grew visibly more impartial.

" Congratulations!" Hermione added hurriedly, diverting Sybil's attention on to her. Inside she cringed, feeling very sorry for her Slytherin friend, "When's the wedding?"

"In three months! We couldn't wait any longer! And it will be massive, at least two hundred and fifty guests, if not more!"

" You already have the guest list?" Eileen asked.

" We couldn't sleep last night" Sybil grinned at her, before sighing contently, " I love him so much! We will be the happiest together!"

"It's really something…" Hermione said quietly, her eyes on Eileen, "Are we invited?"

"Of course! It wouldn't happen if it weren't for you! After all, it was thanks to your father, Hermione, that the two of us met!" Hermione sighed internally. That bloody ball her father placed three years ago. How should she have known that her two friends would fall for the same guy? That was simply cruel.

" I didn't know that he courted you" Hermione said.

" There are a lot of things you don't know Hermione" Sybil retorted back, "That's what happens when you are gone for years without any notice!"

The atmosphere changed from Sybil's excitement to a growing tension. Sybil grew quieter. Hermione, didn't know what to do.

" That's true" she confessed, "I could have visited."

In truth, she didn't know if she could. Experiments and reading took all of her time, and if it weren't for the fact that her father invited himself over any time he liked, she wouldn't have seen a living soul for three years. But such was the life she chose for herself, and she didn't regret it. now she felt very awkward, and there was one thing she did when she felt like that.

"Sybil, congratulations. You will make a wonderful wife and he will be a loving husband. I will have to invite the two of you over to my place to show you to what state I have degraded myself into" she winked at Sybil, before turning to Eileen, " I will write you my address and hope you will visit me. I think you'd like the talk."

She gave both women a final smile and vanished.

Sybil stared after her.

"That was one hell of a quiet apparition right there!"

Eileen felt a soft pressure in her pocket. Feeling it, she recognised a smooth surface of a note.

"Yeah. She always knew how to make her exit."

With that, the dark haired with excused herself, leaving Sybil alone on her family's terrace.

xxxxxxxxxx

Hermione's hideout had three rooms. It was a modest place, filled with plants, filled to the rim bookcases, alchemy stand and little bedroom. In the second room there was a nice, cozy kitchen, in the third, a bathroom. Hermione loved her extensive lands, with acres upon acres of land by the sea for only her to roam through. For three years she lived in this warm little place, visited only by her father.

Now, as she apparated back, she turned around with a scrutinising look and sighed. Eileen would be here soon, and there was quite a mess around. With a swish here, and a nod there, furniture started to arrange themselves and the faint dust that managed to settle in the last couple of days disappeared with the magical wind that swept through the room.

The truth was that Hermione never had proper visitors, and when she made her little dwelling, she hadn't really given a thought about potential incomers. All that mattered was a safe place with lots of books, place for work, comfortable bed and a pot for tea. While she had the old mill as her work space, the more important things she kept hidden in the tunnel underneath the home that linked it to the mill. Well, there was always time later for extending another room, perhaps she should make a guest room. Come to think of it, it did sound like an idea.

While the house did clean itself very well, there were a few things that it left alone, and all of those things concerned her work. No one could touch it apart from her, not even her house, especially her newest discovery.

Hermione frowned.

That would be a hard nut to crack, damn it. The runes were just impossible to decipher, and she translated runes for what now, eighteen years? God, how time flies. But truth be told, the runes were written in a bizarre dialect, it would take some time. Not even father knew what this dialect was.

Shaking her head away from work, Hermione grimaced. This conversation she would be having with Eileen would be a pain. While the two haven't met for three years now, and Hermione knew that it had an impact on Eileen, they kept a vivid correspondence with one another. come to think of it, why didn't she invite Eileen over? Sybil was a sweetheart to Hermione, but she was nowhere near so dear to her as Eileen was. And yet…

As the house cleaned itself, Hermione walked to the kitchen and looked at the clock, before putting the kettle on. She should be here any minute.

By the time Hermione went back to the living room, the house finished its cleaning, and she placed the steaming tea down on the tea table. A small crack, and Eileen emerged from the chimney. Her movements started out elegant, but with each step she crumbled and by the time she reached the comfy cherry red couch, she was all in tears.

" I don't understand it, 'Mione! I really don't!" she wailed.

Hermione rushed to her, enveloping her in a tight hug.

" How did this happen?" She asked, "Didn't he propose to you?"

"Oh I know very well what happened" Eileen muttered with a dark tone, "Sybil and her love spells."

"She wouldn't!"

"Oh yes she would! You saw her look at him that night three years ago! She _devoured_ him!"

"That night, he couldn't take his eyes off you, Eileen" Hermione mumbled.

"He couldn't" Eileen admitted, "yet here we are. Hermione, when she said the news, she sounded so _smug_ , and the way she looked at me… I wanted to wring her neck!"

Hermione sighed.

"And I bet you all the money of the Prince family, that she invited me only so that you would be the witness of my humiliation!" Eileen seethed.

"Now, how could this be true? It's Sybil we're talking about."

"Yeah, Sybil. She is just as Slytherin as we are, and worse! And that company she's been keeping in the last few months…"

"What company?" Hermione asked with a frown.

" You've heard what happened to Tom Riddle, didn't you?"

Hermione shook her head. Looking down at the cooling tea, she took action and with a flick of her hand the two cups filled with warm red cherry tea.

" I haven't heard anything more than what you have written me in the last three years. My only company was my father, and we talk about other things than people" she admitted.

"Well, I'll tell you. He disappeared couple years back. Said to be travelling, from what I heard. But, listen to this, he wasn't travelling for leisure. He's into some very dark stuff."

"He's always been into the dark stuff" Hermione said.

" Yes, but this is a different level. People fear him a little."

"Did he do anything?"

"No. But there is something very worrying about him. There is this scary power oozing from him. He's got quite a bunch of followers, simpering at his feet" Eileen all but spat.

"Did you see him recently?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, once. He was with the Malfoys and Blacks. Sybil was with them too."

"Sybil?" Hermione was astounded.

" Yeah, Sybil. I was surprised too. Hermione… Tom really didn't feel good."

"Tom never _was_ good" Hermione replied.

"You are saying it only because your father hates him"

"My father's dislike towards anyone is a good enough cause for me to dislike them. I don't remember Tom all too well, he finished Hogwarts when I was what? Third year?"

"Forth."

"There you go. There were more important things than Tom Riddle."

"Yeah…" Eileen stared into the distance.

Hermione passed her the tea. The pureblood witch thanked her with a nod, taking a sip.

" But you didn't see Sybil in these last three years" she said after a while, "She changed."

"She didn't seem to have changed all too much when I saw her first…"

"…But then there were those little things, right?" Eileen finished, "Yes, she has that calculating look now. She sees herself as a predator. That's what happened after sticking with that dark bunch for so long."

"What will you do now?" Hermione asked.

"What can I do? If she tells us they are engaged, and in three months they'll be…" Eileen couldn't force herself to say it, "Then it's all official and there is nothing I can do about it. She's bound to put some love spell on him, and he's probably like a dog right now, awaiting her commands. She bragged about a year ago about that new potion she made, that made men loyal like dogs."

"I am sorry Eileen" Hermione mumbled sadly.

" I loved him, you know?" Eileen sobbed, "I really did. And I wanted him to be happy…"

"I would like you to be happy."

"I can't see happiness right now. But you know what's most painful about the whole thing? She doesn't love him! She doesn't care about him. She wants to eat him up, and then spit him out and take what's left of him. And she will giggle about this too. For she is _such_ a giggly girl!"

Hermione sat awkwardly, wondering what she should say next.

"Would you… like to stay here for some time?" She asked at length.

"What?" Eileen gaped at her.

"Maybe it would do you good if you stayed here and spent some time with me? We would catch up"

"But you don't have much space for the two of us."

" I was thinking about extending another room."

"But it will take weeks!"

"No, I should do it in… two days, something like that. And till that time, I can sleep on the couch, and you can sleep in my room. Really, it will be no problem! And I miss you Eileen" Hermione stared at her with begging eyes.

"What will I do here?" Eileen asked.

"Well, I've got a small workspace in that old mill that's just three steps from here. I've got my workshop there, and a brewing station. I know you have a lot of customers and I assure you, that space will be perfect for you."

"It sounds… perfect" Eileen mumbled.

"Will you stay, please?" Hermione asked.

Eileen stared at her friend, before sighing.

"I will."

"Thank you!"

Hermione hugged her excitedly, while Eileen cracked a smile.

"Girl, you must have been very lonely here."

Hermione laughed.

"Wait, so how are you going to build another room in two days?" Eileen asked.

"Easy. I already have the stone for the walls, and material for the roof, all I have to do is the floor. It shouldn't be that hard, after all I built the whole house with me own hands!" Hermione laughed.

Eileen stared at her.

"You built it all by yourself?" she asked in wonder.

"Well, my father made a bet with me, and I couldn't jut not take it. I've read all I could on the subject of house building, and talked with many builders, so it wasn't all that difficult to do. Magic" Hermione grinned.

"I would like to see this" Eileen said with awe, " how long did it take for you to build the whole thing?"

"Three months. Pretty much the whole summer after graduating, and some bits of autumn. But honestly, the place is very small. I intended it to be like that, since I wanted to get to work."

" I like it here. It's cosy" Eileen admitted with content.

" And you'll have a room all for yourself. It will be called 'Eileen's room'" Hermione grinned.

"How original."

"I leave my creativity in magic" the witch shrugged.

The two giggled and snuggled up on the couch. They spent the rest of the evening catching up (with Eileen doing most of the talking), on the people from their former class, on life, ministry. And it was the first time in a long while that Hermione felt very happy.

 **AN: You know that annoying moment when you write a dialogue and have this instinct to type in the smiling face at the end of a sentence? Now, THAT is annoying. :D**

 **The plot line of course is not a random attempt to connect dots together, there is a pretty complicated story forming out. I don't know how long it will be in terms of chapter, I suppose as long as I feel motivated to write (*enter hint here*(review!)) ;). But honestly, write what's on your mind, if there is nothing on your mind, write that too (we all have our bad days ;)). This really is the first chapter, so I don't know how much you can really review, but I think that with the speeding up of action, you will find something to comment on.**

 **And yes, Tom will be here at some point ;).**

 **Cheers, mates**


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